Printing machine



April 1962 H. BILSKY 3,027,834

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/G.3. /0 54x55 53 52-49 48 4750 April 3, 1962 H. BILSKY PRINTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 24, 1960 April 1962 H. BILSKY 3,027,834

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 3, 1962 H. BlLSKY 3,027,834

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 3,027,834 PRINTING MACHINE Hyman Bilsky, 21 Great Sutton St., London England Filed Feb. 24, 1960, Ser. No. 10,807 2 Claims. (Cl. 101-492) This invention relates to printing or like machines, for example machines for printing, embossing, perforating, or shearing a strip of tickets or labels or the like or a web of paper or the like and the invention is envisaged as being particularly although not exclusively useful in relation to small machines such as are used in stores and the like for printing labels which are supplied in the form of ready perforated strips complete with attachment means such as adhesive, Wire staples, or loops of string.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved printing or like machine.

A printing or like machine according to the present invention comprises in combination a base, a fiat bed secured to said base, two side plates secured to said base at opposite sides of said flat bed, a type box slidably guided between said side plates for reciprocal motion in a straight line substantially perpendicular to the top surface of said flat bed, a main shaft rotatably mounted on 3,027,834 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 the feed lever and carrying an adjustment nut and surrounded by a spring which urges the feed lever against the adjusting nut. Alternatively one or both ends of the link or links connecting the feed lever to the typebox may be slot-ted so that lost motion between the typebox and feed lever can occur as necessary to permit adjustment of the rest position of the web or the like after each feeding movement; the limit of travel of the feed lever may be determined by a set-screw or other readily adjustable abutment, the position of which can be changed according to the required position of rest one of said side plates, a handle operatively connected to said main shaft for rotating said main shaft, a crank arm secured to said main shaft, and an actuating lever pivotally connected to said crank arm and to said type box, the arrangement being such that in the two end positions of said type box in its reciprocal motion said actuating lever and said crank arm are parallel to one another and substantially perpendicular to the top surface of said flat bed. The flat bed is arranged to support part of a web or strip of labels or the like which is being printed, and the flat bed may be formed of or provided with a flexible or resilient material, for example of plastic or rubber. In order that the machine may be readily adapted for use on webs or the like of different thicknesses there may be provided means for varying the path or travel of the typebox, and in one advantageouscon struction the main shaft is journalled in an eccentric which can be rotated to vary the distance of the main shaft from the bed; the eccentric may be connected'to an arm by which it can be rotated, and this arm may be provided with a quadrant or segment which can be clamped by a screw-clamp or the like to lock it in the desired position. In alternative constructions the crank arm is adjustable on the main shaft or the oscillating type-box actuating lever is adjustably attached to the crank arm or the type-box actuating lever is fulcrummed on an eccentric journal on a shaft which can be rotated as required to adjust the path of travel of the type-box and then locked in position.

Automatic feed means may be provided for feeding forwards the web or strip of labels or the like. In one advantageous construction the feed means comprises an oscillating feed lever. Any desired method of oscillating the feed lever may be employed, for example it may be driven from the main shaft or from the type-box actuating lever, but it has been found preferable to employ a link or links connecting the feed lever directly or indiof the web or the like after each feeding movement.

On the feed lever may be provided one or more webengaging elements in the form of independently springloaded pivoted plates having beaks or fingers adapted to engage in perforations or slots or other indentations or other irregularities in the web or strip of tickets or the like. The web may be supported by a support having one or more slots into which the tips of some or all of the beaks or fingers can project through perforations or apertures in the web or strip of tickets or the like. If the web has no apertures or other irregularities for engagement by beaks or fingers there may be employed rubber fingers or other elements adapted to engage the web frictionally. Means such as spring-loaded fingers or rubber fingers may be provided to ensure that the web is not drawn back when the feed lever commences its return movement.

In order to vary the feed distance for each cycle of movement of the feed lever there may be provided a shield covering part of the web or the like so that it cannot be engaged by the feed means until the latter are clear of the shield. The shield may be a plate of metal, and this may be adjustably arranged in a guide plate which is slotted at one end, the shield being movable to uncover more or less of the slot to expose more or less of the web or the like. Preferably the guide plate is pivotally-mounted and spring-loaded, so that by pressure upon one end the guide plate can be raised from the web support to allow the web to be initially inserted with ease. Detent or locking means may be provided to retain the shield in any desired position. The guide plate and shield may be arranged so that when the guide plate is raised the pivoted plates or other web-engaging elements on the feed lever are lifted to allow the web to be easily pushed into or withdraw from the machine.

Slide guides for the web may be adjustably mounted, for example on slides movable by set-screws with hand knobs, to permit webs of various widths to be fed through the machine and located appropriately so that the type is centralised or otherwise disposed as required on the labels or the like.

When the machine is to be used for printing the typebox may be adapted to accommodate normal type-high type and additionally or alternatively it may be adapted to carry a type tray for holding type of unusual size, for example small rubber-faced type. In one advantageous arrangement there is a tool holder or type tray which is square and can be inserted into the type-box with the lines of type either parallel or transverse to the Web as desired. The type tray may have flanges or bevelled edges to suit slots of complementary shape in the typebox, and detent means may be provided to hold the type tray in the correct position. Instead of or in addition to printers type the type-box may carry embossing or perforating dies, shearing blades, or other tools or serial numbering mechanism or the like.

An automatically-actuated ink applicator such as a roller or pad may be provided to supply ink to the type face. One simple may of doing this is to mount an absorbent ink roller between two curved spring-loaded arms so that the ink roller rolls across and inks the type face as the type-box rises and falls. The curved arms may be shaped so that the ink roller cannot touch the side of the type-box, or for the same purpose at one or both ends of the ink roller there may be a wheel (with may have a wavy or serrated edge) to roll upon the type-box. It is preferred to load the curved arms by means of one or more clock springs which readily permit the arms to swing through large angles so that the arms can be swung out for inking or removal or exchange of the ink roller. The ink roller maybe mounted on a shaft which simply fits in slots in the curved arms so that removal and exchange of the ink roller is very quick and easy.

In the accompanying drawings a machine according to the invention is illustrated by way of example,

FIGURE 1 being an end elevation of the machine with a cover-plate partly broken away to reveal the mechanism,

FIGURE 2 an elevation in section on the line A-A of FIGURE 1 with the mechanism shown in two different positions,

FIGURE 3 a plan corresponding to FIGURES l and 2,

FIGURE 4 a side elevation of some parts, illustrating a modified arrangement for feeding forwards a web or strip of labels or the like,

FIGURE 5 a view in the direction of the arrow B in FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 a detail view in section on the line CC in FIGURE 5, and

FIGURE 7 a plan of a shown in FIGURE 4.

The illustrated machine comprises a hollow base 10 in which is fitted a drawer 11 having a knob 12.

To the top of the base 10 are secured two side plates 13 and 14 between which is secured a cover-plate 15.

A tool holder or type-box 16 is slidably mounted between the side plates 13 and 14 so that it can reciprocate in a vertical straight line, being provided with trunnions 17 and a main pin 18 which extend into vertical guide slots in the side plates 13 and 14. The type-box by means of an oscillating actuguide plate and roller guide as 16 is moved to-and-fro ating lever 19 as explained below.

The top of the base 10 is fitted with a flat bed 20 of resilient material such as plastic or rubber to support a web or strip of labels or the like whilst being printed or embossed or perforated or otherwise worked upon, for example by type 56 held in a type tray 22 secured in the type-box 16. A guide plate 21 is level with the surface of the flat bed 20 and supports the web as it leaves the bed.

The oscillating type-box actuating lever 19 is oscillated by means of a rotatable main shaft 23 which acts upon the lever 19 through a crank 24 and a crank pin 25. The main shaft 23 is rotated by means of a handle 26 and is journalled in an eccentric 27 which is rotatably mounted in the side plate 14. An arm 28 is secured to the eccentn'c 27 for rotation of the latter, and the arm 28 is provided with a quadrant or segment 29 which can be clamped by means of a clamp plate 30 held by a clamp screw 31 which screws into the side plate 14. By loosening the clamp and turning the arm 28 and the eccentric 27 the distance of the main shaft 23 from the bed 20 can be varied, and by means of the clamp the arm and eccentric can be locked in the desired position. The lower end of the type-box actuating lever 19 is bored to accommodate the main pin 18 which extends across a slot in the type-box 16 into the guide slots in the side plates 13 and 14.

For automatically feeding forwards a web or strip of labels or the like the machine is provided with an oscillating feed lever 32 pivotally mounted on a cross-shaft 33 and oscillated by means of two links 34 and two levers 35. The cross-shaft 33 is held between the side plates 13 and 14 and the two levers 35 are pivoted at their upper end on the cross-shaft 33 on which the feed lever 32 is also pivoted. At their lower ends the two levers 35 are interconnected by a transverse bar, and the feed lever 32 is connected to the transverse bar by means of a screw-threaded rod which passes through the feed lever 32 and carries an adjusting nut 36 and is surrounded by a compression spring urging the feed lever 32 against the adjusting nut 36. The two links 34 are pivotally connected each at one end to the main pin 18 extending across the type-box 16 and at the other end each to the lower end of one of the two levers 35. As the type-box moves up and down the links 34 and levers 35 oscillate the feed lever 32; the two extreme positions of the mechanism are illustrated in FIGURE 2. At the lower end of the feed lever 32 there are independently spring-loaded pivoted plates 37 having beaks 38 adapted to engage in perforations in a web or strip of tickets or the like. These plates 37 are mounted on a pivot bolt 39 which also supports a pivoted bracket 40 which is loaded by a spring 41 and forms an abutment for the springs loading the pivoted plates 37. e

The web is supported by a web support 42 which extends from one end of the base 10 up to the flat bed 20 and is provided with grooves or slots into which the tips or some or all of the beaks 38 can project through perforations in the web.

In order to vary the distance through which the web is fed forwards with each cycle of movement of the oscillating feed lever 32 there is provided a shield 43 which covers part of the web so that the latter cannot be engaged by the beaks 38 until the beaks 38 clear the shield 43 during their movement towards the flat bed 20. The shield 43 is in the form of a plate provided with a knob 44 and slidable in a guide plate 45 which is slotted at its end near the fiat bed 20, the shield 43 being movable in the guide plate 45 to uncover more or less of the slot to expose more or less of the web to the action of the beaks 38. The guide plate 45 is pivotally mounted and spring loaded, being secured to a boss 46 which is mounted on a shaft 47 extending into a spring housing 48 fixed to a bracket 49 on the top of the base 10. By pressure upon the knob 44 the guide plate 45 can be turned against the spring loading so that its inner end is raised from the web support 42 to allow the web to be easily inserted. The guide plate 45 and shield 43 raise the beaks 38 of the pivoted plates 37 when turned against the spring loading by manual pressure on the knob 44, thereby allowing the web to be easily pushed into or Withdrawn from the machine.

in FIGURES 4 to 7 is illustrated a modified and preferred arrangement for automatically feeding forwards a web or strip of labels or the like. Like reference numcrals indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawings, and the arrangement shown in FIGURES 4 to 7 is in some respects similar in its construction and operation to that described above and shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. In the feeding arrangement shown in FIG URES 4 to 7 two sliding plates 70 are provided on the oscillating feed lever 32. The two sliding plates 70 are connected to each other by bolts 71 and 72, and the feed lever 32 is provided with slots 73 in which the bolt 71 can slide. A guide bolt 74 passes through the feed lever 32 and extends through slots 75 in the sliding plates 70; thus the sliding plates 70 can slide longitudinally relatively to the lever 32 but remain parallel to the lever 32. The pivot bolt 39 (for the pivoted bracket 40 and the web-engaging elements in the form of the pivoted plates 37) is mounted in the sliding plates 70 and is extended to form an axle for two rollers 76. A guide cam 77 is secured to the web or strip guide plate 45, and the rollers 76 run on the upper surface of the guide cam 77 as the lever 32 oscillates. The sliding plates 70 are urged downwardly by tension springs which have their upper ends anchored to the bolt 71 and their lower ends anchored to a cross-pin fixed in the lever 32. The springs 78 thus urge the rollers 76 against the guide cam 77 and provide the spring-loading for the guide plate 45 As illustrated in FIGURE 4, the upper surface of the guide cam 77 is flat and parallel to the fiat bed 20 (shown only in FIGURE 2), and it is found that this arrangement overcomes difficulties which sometimes arise with the arrangement shown in FIGURES l to 3 because of the beaks 38 of the pivoted plates 37 engaging in irregularities in a web or strip of labels or the like. Instead of being arranged as shown, the upper surface of the guide cam 77 may be inclined, for example it may be parallel to the guide plate 45, or it may be curved. Interchangeable guide cams 77 may be provided so that an appropriate guide cam may be selected and fitted to suit a particular web or strip of labels or the like. The guide cam 77 controls the sliding movements of the sliding plates 70 on the feed lever 32 as the latter oscillates and determines the path followed by the pivot bolt 39 by which the pivoted plates 37 are attached to the sliding plates 70.

Two side guides 50 and 51 for the web are adjustably mounted on slides 52 which are movable by means of set-screws provided with hand knobs 53 to permit webs of various widths to be fed through the machine and appropriately located so that the type is centralised or otherwise disposed as required on the web. Cover plates 54 are secured to the base to protect and locate the slides 52, and the set screws are held in position by retaining plates 55 secured to the slides of the base 10. The type-box 16 is adapted to accommodate normal type-high type and also to carry the type tray 22 for holding the small rubber-faced type 56. The type tray 22 is square and can be inserted into the type-box 16 with the lines of type either parallel to or perpendicular to the longitudinal edges of the web as desired, the type tray 22 having flanges which fit in slots in the type-box 16 as can be seen in FIGURE 1.

An automatically-actuated ink roller 57 supplies ink to the fact of the type 56. The ink roller 57 is formed of absorbent material soaked in ink and is mounted between two curved spring-loaded arms 58 and it rolls across and inks the type face as the type-box rises and falls as can be seen from FIGURE 2. At one end of the ink roller 57 is a wheel 61 which rolls upon the typebox and thereby prevents the ink roller from touching the type-box. The two curved arms 58 are pivotally mounted on a shaft 59 which extends between the side plates 13 and 14, and the arms 58 are loaded by means of clock springs 60 which readily permit the arms 58 to be swung out for applying ink to or inserting or removing the ink roller. The ink roller 57 is mounted on a shaft 62 which fits simply into slots in the curved arms 58 so that the ink roller can be very quickly and easily inserted and removed.

From the description it will be seen that the invention provides an improved machine of economical construction and offering advantages in use. Various modifications can be introduced without departing from the invention.

I claim:

1. A machine for printing labels, comprising in combination a base, a fiat bed secured to said base, two side plates secured to said base at opposite sides of said flat bed, a main shaft rotatably mounted in one of said side plates, a handle operatively connected to said main shaft for rotating said main shaft, a crank arm secured to said main shaft, an actuating lever pivotally connected to said crank arm, a main pin attached to said actuating lever, a type box slidably guided between said side plates and pivotally connected through said main pin to said actuating lever, the arrangement being such that rotation of said main shaft causes reciprocating motion of said type box in a straight line substantially perpendicular to the top surface of said flat bed, links pivotally connected to said main pin, swing levers pivotally mounted between said side plates and pivotally connected to said links, and an oscillating label strip feed lever pivotally mounted between said side plates and adjustably connected to said links.

2. A machine for printing labels, comprising in com: bination a base, a flat bed secured to said base, two side plates secured to said base at opposite sides of said fiat bed, a main shaft rotatably mounted in one of said side plates, a handle operatively connected to said main shaft for rotating said main shaft, a crank arm secured to said main shaft, an actuating lever pivotally connected to said crank arm, a main pin attached to said actuating lever, a type box slidably guided between said side plates and pivotally connected through said main pin to said actuating lever, the arrangement being such that rotation of said main shaft causes reciprocating motion of said type box in a straight line substantially perpendicular to the top surface of said flat bed, an oscillating label-strip feed lever pivotally mounted between said side plates, means transmitting motion from said type box to said feed lever, at least one spring-loaded member slidably mounted on said feed lever, label-strip engaging means attached to said spring-loaded member, a label-strip guide mounted on said base, and a guide earn mounted on said labelstrip guide and controlling the sliding movements of said spring-loaded member on said feed lever as the latter oscillates.

References (Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 20,217 Pettee et al. May 11, 1858 1,104,829 Ray July 28, 1914 1,419,345 Wright June 13, 1922 2,441,862 Wutscher May 18, 1948 2,889,768 Hampton June 9, 1959 

